The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

UTTARAKHAND

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

LETTERS

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

Haryana staff retirement age back at 58
Khattar Cabinet reverses Hooda govt’s decisions, removes HSSC Chairman
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 25
Reversing the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda government’s decision, the Haryana Cabinet today reduced the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58 years.

Mahohar Lal Khattar

The Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mahohar Lal Khattar also increased VAT on diesel and decided to do away with toll tax at six locations on roads recently declared as national highways.

In what could be the beginning of the Khattar government’s attempt to pave way to appoint its members in Boards and Commissions which control recruitments, the Cabinet cleared the removal of the Chairman and members of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC). The Cabinet also scrapped the Haryana School Teachers’ Selection Board (HSTSB) while repealing the state Act passed by the Congress-led Bhupinder Singh Hooda government. The Cabinet, however, allowed those teachers to continue who have been issued appointment letters.

Speaking to mediapersons, Khattar said that the government had taken the decision to reverse the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 58 years in an attempt to open job opportunities for the youth. The retirement age of Class IV, visually impaired and handicapped employees has been reversed from 62 to 60 years.

Employees who have completed 58 or 60 years in their respective categories and are still serving would retire on November 30, 2014. The upper age limit for fresh recruitment would remain 42 years.

Announcing the scrapping of the HSTSB, Khattar said: “There are many ways of recruiting teachers. We will find an alternative.” The HSTSB is presently headed by KS Sangwan and has three members who are due to complete their term in February 2015. Khattar said although VAT on diesel had been increased from 9.24 per cent to 12.07 per cent, the retail sale price with revised tax rate would be around Rs 53.19 per litre, still lower than the prices in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The Cabinet also decided to close down toll points at six locations as Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has declared these as national highways.

These are TP-1 on the Gurgaon-Sohna road (near Badshahpur), TP-6 on the Bahadurgarh-Jhajjar-Dadri-Loharu-Pilani road near the Rajasthan border, TP-9 on the Sardulgarh-Sirsa road near the Punjab border, TP-14 on the Sonepat-Gohana road near the UP border, TP-16 on Sohana-Nuh-Ferozpur Zhirkha-Alwar road near Rajasthan the border and TP-19 on the Narnaul-Singhana road near Rajasthan the border).

Key decisions

Retirement age of 'Class IV employees reduced from 62 to 60 years

Those who have completed 58 & 60 yrs of service to retire on Nov 30

Haryana School Teachers' Selection Board scrapped

VAT on diesel hiked from 9.24% to 12.07%